On board command ship searching for migrant smugglers

This year alone, more than 3,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean, most of them after embarking on the perilous journey from North Africa towards Europe.

This has led to massive rescue efforts at sea, coordinated by European authorities and a military operation targeting the criminal networks that smuggle these migrants.

The BBC's Ed Thomas has been given exclusive access to the central command of the flagship of that military mission in the Mediterranean.